A Gambler's Dilemma
by breezbox
Summary: Once again, Ranma has pushed things to far. Instead of simply letting her sister brood on it, Nabiki places a bet with Akane. Can Akane survive, or will Nabiki come out on top? And what are Akane's true feelings toward Ranma? R & R ^_^ Chapter 5 up!
1. Default Chapter

Hi Minna!  Back with this new fic!  I had this idea and I just had to write it.  So here goes, enjoy!

Disclaimer:  I don't own Ranma ½  :(

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Ranma sat silently facing the dojo wall as he pondered over a certain someone who had managed to grab his attention of late.

"Violent idiot tomboy."  Ranma grumbled aloud to no one in particular.  'It's not my fault she can't cook.'  Ranma thought as he silently mused over what had happened earlier that day as he unconsciously ran a hand over his now discoloring eye.

*Flashback* 

_They were all seated at the table getting ready to eat breakfast when Kasumi suddenly appeared carrying a tray laden with their breakfast, with Akane following suit.  Ranma, who was already seated at the table, licked his lips in anticipation.  Even though it was short lived._

_Kasumi smiled becomingly.  "Today Akane wanted to cook breakfast.  And she did a good job to."  Kasumi finished her smile waning slightly.  Suddenly the delicious looking meal lost it's appeal.  The occupants seated at the table glanced at each other in mute horror before strings of excuses were heard as they tried to get up to leave.  Kasumi looked at them disapprovingly._

_This immediately angered Akane.  "SIT DOWN!!  I worked hard to try to make this meal so it can't be that bad.  You haven't even tried it yet."  She said, hurt evident in her eyes._

_After hearing this, they all sat back down guilt gracing their faces.  _

_Akane smiled setting the food down on the table.  "Okay, dig in!"  She said happily as they reluctantly started to ply food on their plates.  That done, they stared at each other, wondering who would experiment with Akane's new creation first.  Finally Soun spoke up, "Akane-chan this smells great and I can't wait to try it.  Ranma-kun should try it first because… he's your fiancé!"  He said cheerfully._

_A horrified look crossed over the pigtailed boy's features.  "I ain't-" Ranma started angrily but was cut off by a not so subtle smack to the head by his father._

_Ranma turned on him angrily, "Old man."  He growled ready to start a one of their daily brawls._

_Genma grabbed his son by his nape of his neck, speaking to him in furious hushed tones.  "You are her fiancé boy, don't hurt her feelings!"  He whispered heatedly._

_Ranma, looked up at Akane.  Akane face was a mix of anticipation and hope.  His dad was right.  He couldn't just hurt her feelings.  So he relented cautiously taking the first bite.  He chewed for a minute before he started gagging._

_Akane's hopeful expression changed to one of anger.  "It can't be that bad!"  She said exasperated._

_After Ranma managed to spit out Akane's latest concoction he turned his watery eyes on Akane.  "Your right…it's worse!"  He gasped rising from the table heading to the kitchen to attempt to wash the foul aftertaste of her concoction out of his mouth, Akane trailing close behind._

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_"Ranma!  Are you okay?"  Akane asked following Ranma to the kitchen, watching worriedly as Ranma poured himself a glass of water and immediately downing it._

_Coughing briefly due to the little time he wasted in guzzling down his glass of water, he turned to glare at the deplorable chief.  "Do I look okay!?  What am I, one of your Guiney pigs!?"  Ranma ranted._

_After that comment, all thoughts of concern for her fiancé quickly vanished causing Akane to immediately take the defensive.  "That's what I get for being concerned about you!  It can't be THAT bad!"  She growled slightly hurt at the assault on her character._

_"Oh trust me… it is.  What did you cook with anyway? POISION AND CEMENT?"  He sneered._

_"It's not like you could have done better you self centered jerk!"  Akane said now royally pissed._

_Ranma rolled his eyes heavenward, " Please, Anybody could cook better than you.  You cook just as bad as you look!"  Ranma said in retaliation._

_At his slight, Akane slowly turned away from him, appearing to have backed down._

_Ranma immediately became alarmed not wanting her to cry.  He hated it when girls cried.  "A-Are you crying!?"  Ranma asked nervously walking up behind his unhinged fiancé.  When he received no answer he tried looking over her shoulder to peer at his face._

_She whipped around; face enraged and quickly taking out one of her magically appearing mallets, proceeded to pulverize her unsuspecting fiancé.  "RANMA NO BAKA!!!"_

_*End of flashback*_

Ranma shook his head after speculating on what had happened previously.  It wasn't exactly his fault she couldn't cook.  And if she knew she couldn't cook, then why was she taking everything out on him.

Ranma sighed his eyes turning to gaze at the dojo wall across from him.  It was no use.  He would never get her to stop acting that way towards him.  He seemed to be the only person who received this kind of violent attention from her.  

He was just plain tired of having to bear the brunt of her anger, (A/N: Even though half of the time she is hitting him is because he said something mean) even if she was kind of cute when she was angry.  He smirked.  Come to think of it she was kind of cute when she- 

As quickly as the smile graced his face, it was gone as if it had never been there.  He shook his head vehemently, not at all liking where his train of thoughts were going.    The pigtailed boy slowly rose from his spot on the dojo floor.  Maybe he had been too hard on her.  She probably did work really hard on this new project and he had only thrown it in her face that she had failed.  As he though some more over this something akin to guilt started to slowly slip into his heart.

He just as quickly shook off the feeling.  Oh well, she would learn from this and get better at it.  Having decided that he would not think on the subject anymore, he quickly exited the dojo and proceeded to go out the gate to get some alone time and not think about what he had said to Akane.

But somehow, the feeling was inescapable.

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 After her fight with Ranma, Akane had gone up to her room to reflect about what had just occurred.  She had work extra hard to try and please everyone.  Maybe even trying to please a certain someone.  

She shouldn't care about what that jerk thought of her cooking.  She sighed, but she did.  

'Okay, I'm going to get up and go somewhere so that I can stop thinking about that jerk.'  This decided she started to look for her favorite sweater.  When she couldn't find it she made her way into her sisters room to ask to borrow one of her sweaters.  'Or one of MY sweaters.'  She grumbled.

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"Nabiki, do you know where my pink sweater is?"  Akane asked as she made her way through Nabiki's door way.

Nabiki was lying on the bed reading a magazine, legs crossed at the ankle.  Kasumi was there also, sitting on the floor sewing.  At the sound of Akane's voice, Kasumi raised her head from her task and greeted her, Akane doing likewise.

Her sister just pointed to the closet, engrossed in her magazine.  

Only when Akane had retrieved the sweater and was about to walk out the door did Nabiki say something.  "Where are you going?"  She asked, face still in the magazine.

Akane turned to face her.  "Probably to go see a movie or something."  'To try to get my head off of Ranma.'  She added inwardly.

"You know maybe you shouldn't be so hard on Ranma-kun.  He probably doesn't realize what he says is mean.  And who knows, you might give him brain damage from the almost daily beatings you give him."  Nabiki joked lightly, finally turning to look at her younger sibling.

"I don't get mad at him or hit him that often!  And when I do it's always his fault!"  Akane said getting angry.

"Or it might be because you possible like him?  Or even love him?" Nabiki teased lightly.

"W-what!?  I could never like an idiot like that!  And I could be nice to him if I thought he deserved it!"  Akane exploded, even as she started to become flushed.  

Nabiki was slightly surprised to see Akane react so vehemently.  Suddenly, a plan started to slowly take shape in her head.  She slowly smiled.  "You couldn't go a day without yelling or hitting him.  And that's understandable considering how much you like him."  Nabiki said nonchalantly.

"I could be nice to him for a week if I wanted to!  I just don't feel he deserves my kindness."  Akane said.

Nabiki's smile grew.  Good she had played right into her hands.  "Wanna bet on it?"

"Bet on what?"  Akane said calming down a little.  

"Okay, you cannot hit or yell at Ranma for a week.  Basically be nice to him."

"Okay you got yourself a deal."  Akane said out of anger, ready to prove to everyone that she did NOT love the pigtailed boy that was constantly swimming through her head.  Most of all she wanted to prove it to herself. 

After the agreed on the price of the wager she was about exited her sisters room.  "Oh yeah, you can't mention this to Ranma though."  She told her sister.

"Agreed."

Kasumi looked at her younger sister askance.

Nabiki rolled her eyes and sighed.  "Oh don't worry about it Kasumi everything's going to be alright."

Nabiki turned her gaze back to her magazine.  This would definitely be fun to watch.  She might even make some money off of this.  She would start taking wagers tomorrow.

Wondering what her sister was really up to, Akane proceeded to exit her room.  'I can't believe she could possibly think that-' She wasn't looking where she was going and ran into a hard chest.  Particularly, the chest of her fiancé.

Ranma looked at her curiously.  "Don't mention what to me?"  

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So!?  Should I continue it? Please review and tell me how you liked it.  I really need your input on this so please take the time to review.  Also if you want to be notified when I update, please leave it in a review or e-mail me at breezbox6@aol.com.  Thanks for reading and I hope to see you next chapter.  That is if you review!  ^_^


	2. Day one

Hi Minna!  Back with chapter 2!  Hope you like it!  I really want to thank everyone how took the time to review…you all made me so happy!  Okay enough talk, on with chapter 2! Enjoy ^_^

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Startled, Akane slowly looked up from her fiancé's chest to look into his confused and slightly dubious eyes.  She smiled at him convincingly.  "Oh, nothing important."  She said as she tried to quickly walk around and past him.

Seeing Akane's strange reaction only caused Ranma's suspicion to rise.  He jumped in front of her to block her way.  "If it's something that you're keeping from me, then it has to be important."  He reasoned, looking down at Akane distrustfully.

Akane gave a little defeated sigh.  "Fine, we were discussing plans for your next birthday."  Akane said a little too hopefully.  "Now that you have your answer, would you mind letting me by?"  She said sweetly.

Ranma blinked confusedly.  He seemed to accept it a moment; all of a sudden, his eyes darkened with mistrust.  "My birthday just passed a month ago."  He growled, angry that she was lying to him.

 His persistence was really starting to bother Akane.  "I said MO-, I mean…please let me through.  I want to get by."  She finished, vainly trying not to growl.

This startled Ranma even more.  Since when did she ever start _asking _him to move?  Why didn't she just push him out of the way like she would have usually done?  Ranma thought completely taken aback.

She watched as Ranma silently tried to make sense of her strange behavior.  He looked…well, dumbfounded to say the least.  As if pigs had learned to fly.  

Watching his behavior only served to irritate her even more. 'Well, at least he forgot about it.'  She just had to get away from him, and quickly.  "Never mind.  I'll just be going to my room.  Good night Ranma-chan!"  She said in false cheer, her face screwing up in what should have been a joyful smile as she headed the opposite way to her room.

Ranma merely watched her as she went to her room, silently closing the door behind her.  'Was she being…NICE to me!? She must really be mad at me if she's beyond anger.'  Ranma thought sullenly, still stuck on his spot.  'Aw, well.  I'll apologize to her tomorrow.'  He thought as he headed toward his own room.

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That jerk, jamming her up like that.  She should have malloted him.  The bet wasn't even effective until tomorrow; so she had just been experimenting with it.  It bothered her that Ranma was so surprised that she didn't hit him or yell at him.  'Am I really that bad?'  Akane thought worriedly.

As soon as the question popped in her head, she immediately rejected the fact.  'If he wouldn't make me so mad, then I wouldn't hit him.  Because it's certainly not because I have feelings for him.'  She thought vehemently, getting ready for bed.

'And because I don't have feelings for him, then this whole stupid bet will be a piece of cake.'  Akane thought satisfied as she laid her down on her fluffy white pillow.

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'Piece of cake, my ASS!!'  Akane fumed silently, flopping on her bed dejectedly, after her dreadful day of being "nice" to Ranma started to slowly come to an end.

*flashback*

Akane awoke early that morning with one purpose in mind: to win the bet.  With this solitary purpose in mind, she quickly grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom to shower.

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Unbeknownst to Akane, someone else was up also.  Ranma, who had not gotten much sleep the night before, decided to call it quits and just get up.

Ranma slowly got up from his futon, heading out the door with Akane still fresh on his mind.

Why the tomboys unusual reaction bothered him so much, he didn't know.  Heaving a sigh actually part yawn due to his lack of sleep, he exited the room and started for the bathroom.

Finally, at his destination, the pigtailed boy opened the bathroom door, ignoring the fact that the light was already on.

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Akane, who had just gotten out of the shower, quickly grabbed a towel and fixed the intruder with an outraged glare.  

"A-Akane!  I can explain!"  Ranma sputtered Frantically, even thought it wouldn't help him.  Nope…he was a dead man.

"Ranma."  Akane growled, slowly pulling out Mallot-sama, ready to execute her now repentant fiancé.

Ranma, who was still rooted to the spot throwing out explanations, noticed that when she was mere inches from bashing his brains in, she stopped.  As if remembering something, she drew back the mallot slowly, returning it to mallot land.

Presuming that she would snap and kill him, her next reaction surprised him.

"Just go…" She nearly whispered, turning her gaze to the ground, for fear of seeing his face and finishing what she had first intended to do.

As shocked as Ranma was, he didn't have to be told twice.  He quickly exited the bathroom to assess her reaction elsewhere.  Once out of the bathroom, he did just that.  'No ranting, raving, or hitting!?'  Ranma thought incredulously.  Ranma shook his head slowly.  'Man I really need to get some sleep.'  He thought as he walked back to his room still quite puzzled

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"Ranma no baka."  Akane growled lowly as she emerged from her room later that day after the bathroom incident.  

When she as halfway down the stairs, a knot of nervousness and unease started to slowly form in her belly.  

_'Can I really pull this off?' she questioned herself suddenly, insecurity momentarily getting the best of her, remembering the occurrence earlier._

_However, as quickly as the feeling made its appearance, it was quickly replaced by a competitive adrenaline rush.  'I WILL win this bet.'  She thought as she pasted on a smile and started down the stairs one again._

_As she made her way down the stairs and into the dining room, she was greeted by the sight of her family and her fiancé seated at the table, ready to partake of their breakfast.  _

_"Ohayo, Minna!"  Akane chirped with uncharacteristic cheerfulness, walking over by her fiancé and taking a seat.  After being seated, she fixed Ranma with a big smile despite the anger she still held inside for him.  "Good morning Ranma.  You look…" She stopped to think for a moment, not wanting embarrass herself and say handsome.  "Well."  She finished oddly._

_Ranma's eyes mirrored both shock and suspicion as he gazed back at her.  'Did she just…Compliment him!?  After what had happened?'  He thought, unable to speak for he was struck speechless._

_During his stupor, Kasumi had already arrived with their breakfast setting it on the table.  The soft clank of one of the dishes hitting the table brought Ranma out of his stupor, breaking Akane's gaze and quickly reaching for a rice ball off of one of the plates._

_Noticing that the plate was slightly out of Ranma's reach and that she was closer to it, she picked it up and placed it near Ranma's face, prompting him to take one._

_'Take one!?'  Ranma thought wildly, staring with befuddled eyes at this person who simply must be an alien impersonating the Akane he knew.  There was no other explanation.  Unless…_

_"Did you make these?"  Ranma asked suspiciously, looking from the plate and then back at Akane.  That's what was going on.  She must have cooked them for him for punishment for the bathroom incident.  She was just being nice to him to get him to eat one of her "rice balls of death."  _

_Akane's smile faltered somewhat at Ranma's accusation.  "Ranma, I just came downstairs so I couldn't have possibly cooked these.  And even if I did, they're just rice balls."  She halfway growled, starting to become angry.  Taking a minute to regain her composure, she again encouraged him to take one.  "Ranma-CHAN, my arm is getting tired. PLEASE take one."  She repeated gritting her teeth in anger, eyes starting to alight with their familiar unholy light of fury. 'Before I shove this whole plat of rice balls down your throat,' she added to herself._

_This did not go unnoticed by Ranma.  Maybe he had just been exaggerating her sudden kindness…she could be just having a super good day, even thought it didn't make much sense.  He had clearly seen the anger in her eyes, which had thankful brought a degree of normalcy into this morning's activity.  While he didn't like being used as a punching bag by his violent fiancé, he didn't like the weirdness of the morning.  This decided, he went in for the kill._

_He took one of the rice balls from the plate popping it in his mouth.  "This is good…which means you couldn't have possible made it.  Or else I'd be pushing up daises as we speak."  He chuckled, eyeing Akane to measure her response._

_The fury in Akane's eyes grew as she stared at Ranma as he turned back to his breakfast. Pulling out her trusty mallot, the bet momentarily forgotten, she was prepared to annihilate her fiancé.  When the mallot was about 2 inches from Ranma's poor head, Nabiki broke into her raged reverie._

_"Akane-chan, were you just about to hit poor Ranma in the head?"  She questioned innocently, victory shinning in her eyes already beginning to see how easy she would win this bet._

_This comment immediately brought Akane back to earth.  'What am I doing!?  I can't lose!!!'  She thought frantically.  "Of course not…I just saw a bug."  Akane said smiling calmly, desperately trying to gain her composure back as she tapped the mallot on an imaginary bug on the table.  "Okay, there, it's dead."  She replied smiling convincingly and returning the mallot to mallot land._

_The pigtailed boy glanced over at Akane.  'She didn't hit me.'  Ranma thought dazed, even as he watched Akane grip the edge of the table hard, as if it was the only thing keeping her from killing him.  Unbeknownst to him, it probably was. _

_' When this bet is over, I'm going to kill this jerk,' Akane thought irately.  Being next to him made her even angrier.  Her grip on the table became so intense that seconds later, it broke off leaving Akane with a chunk of wood in her hands._

_The other occupants at the table sat by stunned at this mornings exchange.  This was one hell of a weird breakfast._

_*End of flashback*_

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After this morning's weird activity, Ranma was nearly running to the training hall.  'What the hell just happened?' thought Ranma as he sat against the wall trying to make sense of Akane's strange behavior.

Akane had looked like she was just dying to kill him but… something seemed to hold her back.  Instead of actually hitting him, she had just been breaking things all that morning.  Like 3 plates, 4 cups and the side on the wooden table, almost each time claiming to have killed some kind of imaginary bug.  Everyone including him had thought Akane had gone crazy.  Everyone except Nabiki; she seemed to hold a look of glee in her eyes every time it looked as if Akane would snap any moment.

_'_Maybe someone else besides me has done or said something to Akane.'  Ranma pondered thoughtfully, desperately trying to rationalize the unusual behavior that Akane was displaying, because…quite frankly, it scared the hell out of him.  

After ruling out the first possibility because she didn't go out that day, Ranma came to the conclusion that she was either PMSing or going crazy.  Sighing audibly, he leaned back against the wall of the dojo, gazing at the ceiling.  Suddenly, a possibility came to mind.  What if Akane was just being nice to him to catch him off guard so that she could poison him or something for being mean to her yesterday?  She had seemed to take it awful hard.  Had he finally crossed the line?

Ranma jumped up immediately after having that thought. "Now I'm going crazy." He said wearily.  Akane would never do anything like that.  She might be angry with him a great deal, but she would never stoop so low. 

"That uncute tomboy!"  Ranma yelled irritated, getting up to ask perpetrator herself what was going on with her.

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'I came extremely close to losing the bet,' she thought distressed.   What was she going to do?

Turning her attention to P-chan, who had shown up shortly after the breakfast incident, she brought him up to her face.  "You don't think I'm mean, do you, P-chan?"  She questioned, suddenly feeling slightly insecure.

P-chan shook his head from left to right vehemently, clearly showing his difference of opinion on the subject.

Smiling at his reaction, she gently placed him back into her lap.  "Well, Ranma seems to think so.  Just because I act nice to him, he thinks I'm acting strange.  I'm not mean to Ranma all the time, am I?  So Ranma can just-" Akane stopped looking down at the little object in her lap.  Was it her imagination or did P-chan growl every time she mentioned Ranma's name?

"I mean Ranma's not-" *growl*

"Ranma." *Growl*

Akane finally burst out laughing for the first time that day, causing the piglet to glace at her with confusion.  'This is priceless,' she thought, picking P-chan up again.  She needed a good laugh today.  Putting P-chan back on the bed, she made for the bathroom.

She was halfway there when her sister Kasumi approached her.  "Akane, I need to talk to you."  She told her as she led them to her bedroom.

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"Akane, are you okay?"  Kasumi said worriedly, sitting down on the bed once they were in the bedroom.  Soun had practically begged Kasumi to talk to Akane to see what was wrong.  He had said the house wouldn't last if this kept up, referring to the things she broke today.  However, she had already known what was wrong with her younger sister.

"Yeah, I'm fine."  Akane said with false confidence, already knowing to what Kasumi was referring to.  Akane groaned, putting her head in her hands.  "Kasumi, who am I fooling.  At the rate I'm going, I lose the bet by tomorrow."  She groaned defeated.

Kasumi looked at Akane's bowed head somewhat disapprovingly.  "Akane, I've never seen you as one to give up so easily.  You haven't put up much of a fight."  Kasumi said truthfully.

Akane looked back up quickly at her sister's words.  "I _have _been trying."  She growled.

"Not hard enough.  Why don't you try to use your girlish charm?"  Kasumi smiled.

Akane could only stare at her sister as if she had grown two heads.  "What?"  She squawked.

Kasumi merely smiled.  Then she started to tell Akane just how to do it.

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Akane looked at her sister in amazement.  Why didn't she think of doing that before?  Maybe Ranma would respond to her better if she looked prettier, even thought Kasumi had assured her that she was pretty enough but it just needed to be brought out.

"Good thinking Kasumi! I'll be so sickeningly sweet to him, that I'll KILL HIM with it."  She said, voice rising on "Kill him."  

When she was halfway out of the door, she turned to Kasumi.  "Thanks."  She said sincerely, fixing her with her first genuine smile that day.  

She opened the door with an exuberance that she did not usually possess, stopping momentarily as it seemed to have jammed.  She just pushed harder and it opened all the way.  "This house must be getting old."  She grumbled, going to her room, not noticing the audible "ouch" or the pigtailed boy who was behind the door clutching his aching head.

Ranma watched Akane saunter to her room in what seemed like good cheer.  'Kill him!?'  As if she could, he mentally scoffed, his early thoughts on her behavior instantly starting to fill his head.  She would try to do that, would she?  Well they would just see wouldn't they?  

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Oh, I smell disaster.   Anyways, what do you think?  Like it, hate it, or just plain confused?  Be sure to review and tell me so that I know what I did wrong or right.

Also, if you want to be notified when I update, please leave it in a review or e-mail me at breezbox6@aol.com. Thanks, for reading and I hope to see you next chapter! ^_^.


	3. Day two

What's up Minna-chan?  Back with chapter 3 of this fic, so I hope that you all like it.  Also please be sure to review!

Special thanks to my best friend Monique and my beta-reader Vamp Queen for being so sweet and helping me out.  God bless you girls!

Disclaimer:  I don't own Ranma ½ :)

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Akane awoke early that morning well rested, having dreamt of different ways of torturing Ranma after this whole ordeal was over.

Merrily, she swung her legs over to the side of the bed, taking herself to the closet in order to pick something out appropriate to wear.  After quickly scanning the contents of her closet, she almost immediately became aggravated with the knowledge that she had nothing really cute or sexy to wear, and if she was going to pull this off, she needed just that.

She was just about to walk out of the room and ask Kasumi if she had anything when something red caught her eye.  Turning around slowly, eyes glittering with delight and determination: it was perfect.

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After having picked out what to wear, she jetted into the bathroom, attempting to apply the make-up that her older sister had given her the other day.  Emptying the contents within the small bag, she hastily looked over the cosmetics, not really knowing where to start. 

She picked up both the eyeliner and lip liner briefly wondering what the difference was.  Did it really matter? She thought with a mental shrug.

How hard could it be?  She thought, reaching for a compact.

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Having applied the make-up, she was ready to go downstairs and make her inference.  

She was just about to go downstairs when she bumped into Kasumi.

Kasumi was about to make a hasty apology until she spied Akane.  She emitted a sharp gasp.  "Akane-chan," She whispered worriedly.  "What happened to your face?"  She asked, her face full of concern and empathy for her younger sibling.   "Did you run into a wall?"  She inquired helpfully.

Akane gave her sister a look akin to a glare.  "No, I didn't run into a wall and what's wrong with my face?"  She muttered, offended by the fact that Kasumi was unknowingly making fun of her creation.

The look that Kasumi gave her was answer enough.

She nearly stumped her foot in agitated frustration.  "Kasumi, I was trying to put on the make-up you gave me."  She said dejectedly.

Kasumi's eyes widened in understanding, and then filling with pity.  "Poor thing," Kasumi said lightly, patting Akane's shoulder gently, which earned her a halfhearted scowl.  "We'll get you all fixed up."  Kasumi reassured cheerfully, gently taking Akane's shoulders, to lead her the bathroom.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ta-da!"  Kasumi chirped enthusiastically, surveying her handiwork before turning Akane around to look in the mirror.

Akane gave a sharp intake of breath.  She almost didn't recognize the gorgeous girl staring back at her.  She looked…beautiful!

Still unable to believe her eyes, she turned to Kasumi.  "How did you do that?"  She asked, with an almost awe-struck look shining in her coffee brown eyes.

Kasumi laughed at Akane's 'You're a miracle worker' look.  "I didn't do anything really…you were always pretty and, like I said, it just needed to be brought out more," she supplied.

"Okay…now for the clothes.  Come on, let's get you ready."  Kasumi said as she led Akane out of the bathroom and into her room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

'Here goes nothing.'  Akane thought with a sigh as she descended the stairway.  'I hope this works.'  She silently prayed.

She received her answer as soon as she stepped into view of the dining room.  Ranma looked nothing short of stunned.  Akane almost giddy with excitement, due to the fact that she was having her desired affect on her fiancé.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ranma was indeed stunned to say the least.  Was this his peace-challenged fiancé?  

No matter what he normally said about her looking like a tomboy, he always secretly thought of Akane as pretty.  But this wasn't Akane…this was some kind goddess or something.

Akane strode into the room, the make-up on her face giving her a slightly older and more mature look.  She was clad in a scarlet silk halter-top dress that showed off her well-developed curves and ample bosom.  

She sauntered over to the table, which contained her stunned fiancé and her shocked family members, vainly trying to look graceful and poised.  To which she failed.

Ranma's momentary trance was broken by Akane's ungraceful stumble on her way to the table.   With a slightly shaky smile, she righted herself and sat next to her now seemingly nonchalant fiancé.

"Ohayo, Minna!"  Akane said gleefully, looking over at Ranma, who avoided eye contact with her.

"You look really…pretty Akane!"  Genma said, after getting over his initial shock, to which everybody readily agreed with him.  Everybody except Ranma that is.

When his son didn't seem to have acknowledged Akane's new look, he gave Ranma a 'You had better say something' look, to which Ranma complied.

Turning to face his now beautified fiancé, he did just that.  Even thought it wasn't exactly what his father had in mind.  "Besides the fact that you looked as if you had just gotten jumped by a runaway gang of artists, ya look alright."  He said nonchalantly, rolling his eyes heavenward.  

Akane only glared at him, aware that her appearance affected him somewhat.

"What made you dress up today and where are you going?"  Her father asked, suddenly eager to break the slight tension within the room.

"I just decided that if I'm Ranma's fiancé, I should start acting like it."  She reasoned, getting the desired reaction out of Ranma.

Ranma stared at her, his mouth agape.  Was she for real?  The Akane he knew wouldn't have even found him worthy of her kindness.  What was going on?  And why was she dressing like… _that_?

All of a sudden, Akane's conversation with Kasumi, or what he had gotten from it, came to life in his head once more.  'Kill him?'  Had she been joking or was she devising some kind of plan to do it?  And maybe this was it…

That's it.  He would just show this uncute tomboy that he was totally unaffected by her different look.

This decided, he turned to Akane, ready to calmly ask for the bread right next to her.  "Akane, _please _hand me the breast, I mean the boob!  No…urgg!"  He yelled, getting up, totally frustrated with himself, he went outside to get away from the cause of his problems.

Akane silently watched the quickly retreating back of her disgruntled fiancé with a mixture of fascination and anger.  It had taken her a moment to try to act girlish and sexy, but she had done pretty well.  She was surprised to see just how much she was affecting him.  Then she felt a sudden rush of anger.  He really was a pervert.  She fumed silently.  He would probably be drooling over any girl who dressed up pretty and flirted with him.

"Akane-chan, you're cracking the cup."  Kasumi implored nicely.

Gently setting down the cup, she, too, rose from the table to follow Ranma.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

_'I'm such an idiot!'_  Ranma mentally berated himself, running a frustrated hand over his face.  He had acted like some kind of love-struck fool!  And worse, in front of Akane!

Never one to be taken in by a pretty face, the effect Akane had on him had surprised even him.  Sure, his other fiancé's were cute in their own ways, but Akane did something different to him.

He groaned out loud.  Then there was the comment about the boobs.  He could have died!  It wasn't like he had never seen any before…hell; he had his own unwanted pair!  He huffed, taking a seat near the pond.

After the act she had been pulling lately, Ranma was nearly convinced that she was indeed going to find a way to kill him.

The pigtailed boy was so ponderous over his situation that he didn't even notice an all to familiar figure approaching him from the back.

"Aahhh!"  Ranma screamed before the foot on his back sent him plunging into the small pool that he was seated by.

Girl Ranma emerged angry and sputtering, to confront the culprit.  "Ryoga, you idiot!  Why'd you do that!?"  Ran-chan said angrily, rising out of the little pool, ready to fight.

"Because you're treating Akane bad. For that, I came to punish you!"  He yelled dramatically.

Ranma rolled her eyes.  "I think you got that backwards this time…P-brain."  Ranma muttered meaningfully.

The statement, clearly catching Ryoga's interest, made him let his guard down to pry into Ranma's business.  "What do you mean?"  Ryoga sneered.

"Akane's to devise a plan to kill me or something."  Ranma said convincingly.  It was the only explanation.  

Doubt shown plainly Ryoga's eyes.  "Even if you do deserve it, Akane would never do anything like that.  She's sweet as candy."  He said almost dreamily, hearts starting to form in his eyes.

"Well, what else could be wrong?  She's been nice to me Ryoga?  NICE!"  She emphasized greatly, gesturing with her hands for effect.

This seemed to confuse Ryoga also.  She was often nice to him and everyone else.  Except Ranma.  Even so, he still felt a need to defend Akane.  "Well…Well that's because you don't deserve her nicefullness!"  He cried vehemently, pointing his finger close to Ranma's face.

Ranma's eyes lowered in bored disdain.  "Oi, p-brain…that's not a word."  She said pushing Ryoga's hand away from her face.

Ryoga flushed with embarrassment, and stared down at his twiddling fingers and giving a hasty explanation.  "Well…I haven't been to school in a while because I get lost and I-" Ryoga stopped in the middle of his confession.  What was he explaining his situation to this sex-changing freak for?  "That's besides the point!"  He retorted loudly.

Seeing that that was a particular sore spot on Ryoga's pride, Ranma decided to prick it a little.  "I see being a pig too long has addled your brain.  You probably can't even spell your name anymore."  She laughed loudly.

This angered Ryoga to no end.  Growling, he launched himself at Ranma, starting one of their many brawls.

However, a couple of minutes into the fight, they were interrupted by the topic of their early subject.  "Is it really necessary for you two to fight all the time?"  She huffed getting both of the reprobate's attention.

"Anyways, Ranma-chan," She started sweetly.  "I bought you some of your favorite cookies from the store yesterday."  She finished placing the cookies on the ground next to them, then sauntering away, a small smile of victory gracing her face.

Ranma stared at her back, watching her walk away.  If he wasn't totally convinced then, he was now.  He was defiantly in for it.

"Maybe she is trying to kill you."  Ryoga pointed out unconstructively, already having dug into the cookies that Akane had left. 

Turning on Ryoga angrily, due to the fact that he had voiced his greatest concern, he snatched the bag of cookies from his grasp.  "Well, I'm not going to let her get away with it."  He said seriously.

This caused Ryoga to turn serious also.  "Something's definitely wrong.  We have to find out what's wrong with her.  Not that I want to work with you, but this is for Akane."  He added the last part after seeing Ranma's highly dubious expression.

"Alright," Ranma reluctantly agreed.  He would find out what was going on once and for all…because if he didn't, he wasn't sure how much longer he could take this kind of behavior.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

Okay, another chapter finished!  "Nicefullness" is not a word of course…it was just funny.  So what will they find out?  Anyways, review and tell me how you liked it!  As always, if you want to be on my mailing list, put it in a review or e-mail me at breezbox6@aol.com.  Hope to see you next chapter!


	4. Day three part A

Hi Minna-chan!!  How are you all doing?  Hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving…I know I did!  Well, this is chapter 4 of this fic and I really want to thank you all for sticking with me, reviewing and e-mailing me to keep me on my toes.  So here goes!  Enjoy.

Review! Review! Review!

Disclaimer:  I don't own Ranma ½

*~*~*~*~*

Soundlessly closing the door behind her, Akane flopped down on her bed, exhausted 

Trying to act cute had its good points, but it was really exhausting, and it was sorely out of character for her.  Sure she liked the look on Ranma's face when he had seen her, maybe even remember his expression for life, but it bothered her that it took this to get his attention.  Not that she wanted his attention, she quickly reassured herself.

She sighed removing the red high heel shoes that her sister had lent her.  Her feet hurt too; she thought sullenly, her hands moving unconsciously to rub her aching feet.  What girls must undergo in order to look pretty, she thought ruthlessly, her gaze momentarily traveling to the window.

Her head whipped back to the window immediately.  Was it her imagination, or did she just see P-chan's necktie, dangling from the tree limb outside of the window.  She blinked slowly, reopening her eyes.  It was gone!  She rubbed her eyes, staring at the tree limb again.  It was still gone.  

Akane gave out another tired sigh, putting a hand to her forehead.  Now she was going crazy.  'I had better get some sleep.'  That decided, she laid down closing her eyes, almost immediately falling into a deep sleep, totally unaware of the two culprits that lay just outside of her window.

*~*~*~*~*

Ranma sighed relieved that she didn't catch them, from the precarious position on the tree limb.  If she had caught them, there would have been hell to pay.

He turned an angry glare to Ryoga, shoving the evidence that his bandana provided back at Ryoga.   "Ryoga you idiot!  You almost got us caught!"  Ranma hissed furiously to his unexpected accomplice.

Ryoga flushed red.  "We shouldn't even be up here, you pervert!"  Ryoga said with conviction, returning Ranma's glare with the same intensity.

"W-what?!?!"  Ranma sputtered indignantly.  "Need I remind you P-BRAIN," Ranma started, "That this was _your_ idea?!?!"  Ranma almost yelled, torn between wanting to punch Ryoga and not wanting to wake Akane.

Ryoga opened his mouth to let lose a retort until he realized the truth behind Ranma's accusation, causing him to shut his mouth momentarily.  "Well you shouldn't have listened…have you no conscious?"  Ryoga inquired in a berating tone of voice.

Ranma nearly exploded.  "Me!?!?  You don't call sleeping in her bed perverted?"  Ranma half-yelled, but immediately quieted down some when he saw Akane's motionless form stir slightly.

Ryoga's flush only rose higher.   "Th-that's none of your business!"  He yelled, releasing one of his arms from around the tree limb, attempting to punch his nemesis.

Seeing Ryoga draw back his fist, Ranma brought both legs up to capture his wrist.  "Look, Ryoga…if were going to work together, then we have to stop fighting.  But just for now."  He finished hurriedly; not wanting to make the impression that he would ever want to be Ryoga's _friend_.

Snatching his fist away from it's captured position; Ryoga stared at Ranma with slightly narrowed eyes.  "I guess your right.  I'm going to sleep."  With that, he relinquished his grip on the tree limp, and to Ranma's amazement, falling almost silently into the little pond.

Emerging a little black piglet, he threw Ranma a look that plainly said 'ha' before quickly darting into the dojo to be with his unrequited "love", before Ranma even had time to react.

*~*~*~*~*

'What's going on!?'  Ranma questioned himself for the millionth time in the last couple of days.  Akane's behavior went from just plain weird to a schizophrenic kind of weird.

Instead of being the uncute tomboy he was so accustomed to, she was slowly transforming into this beautiful creature that he wasn't sure he knew.

Ranma turned to his side fitfully.  He really had to find out what was wrong with her.  It was of the utmost importance.  If she didn't revert back to the way she was, he might do something crazy, like kiss her.  And that itself might lead to an even bigger disaster:  letting her know how he truly felt about her.

*~*~*~*~*

The sun cast it's golden rays into Akane's window, making her squint her eyes slightly before finally opening them.  She rose, yawing slightly, getting ready to handle her daily toiletries.

Rubbing her eyes gently with the backs of her hands, she made her way to the bathroom. Not really paying attention to where she was going, she collided with the unsuspecting body of her fiancé, almost making her fall.

Seeing this, Ranma immediately made a grab for her, his hands failing to her waist to steady her.

Akane gaze flew to Ranma's equally startled face, momentarily stunned by his hasty appearance and his nearness.  She had almost lost her temper at the sudden intrusion, but she wasn't prepared for the feelings his nearness caused.  It was heady and vastly unsettling.  And she could see that it affected him also, for he looked as uneasy as she felt. 

Breaking off both of their reveries, Ranma quickly dislodged his arm from around her waist, his hasty action almost causing her to fall.  "L-look where you're going next time!"  He said from between clenched teeth, trying to sound disgusted with the prospect of having bumped into her.

Akane's eyes burned with their familiar fire, but she refused to let it out.  How dare he act as though she disgusted him!?  Well she had come to far to let him bait her into an argument.  Pasting on a fake smile, she decided to confuse him once again.  "Ranma-chan, I'm sorry I didn't see you there…I'm sorry.  It won't happen again!"  With a toss of her short hair, she marched right past him, and into the bathroom, soundlessly closing the door behind her.

'Sorry!?!?  It'll never happen again!?!?'  Ranma mimicked Akane's voice in his head.  He should have expected that kind of response after the way she had been acting lately, but this was just to unreal.  He was going to go find Ryoga and fast, so that they could get started on their mission.

He didn't have to look far.  Ranma numbly took a step but halted when he heard an offensive squeal come from an object under his foot.

"P-chan!"  He exclaimed as the small black pig glared at him meaningfully.  Ryoga had been watching the whole exchange by the two and had been extremely surprised.  For as long as he had met Akane, she had always taken her anger out on Ranma.  Even though Ranma had told him what had happened, he had been wholly unprepared for her reaction.  He had been more than ready to take a chunk out of Ranma's exposed ankle in Akane's defense until she had apologized and just walked away.

"Ryoga, come on.  Were getting to the bottom of this."  Ranma consented, kicking P-chan in the air, with skill that would have made a soccer player proud, and catching the now angered pig.

*~*~*~*~*

Akane looked around the room once again searching for Ranma's familiar face to no avail.  'Where the hell was he!?'  Akane thought once again.  It was mid-after noon and still she hadn't seen him since the episode earlier today.  She had dressed up from him and he wasn't even showing his face!  She fumed heatedly.

Instantly looking at the bright side, she decided she would go out of the day.  She hadn't really been anywhere for the past few days, so it would do her some good to go out today.  She needed a break.

That decided; she headed for the dojo gate.  However, when she was almost outside of the gate, she stopped, whipping her head around quickly to slowly survey her surroundings.  When she saw nothing of interest, she started to walk again.

Odd…she had felt as if someone had been watching her.  'I must _really_ need this day out.' She sighed, determined to relieve her mind of both Ranma and the bet.

Unbeknownst to Akane, her first impression proved to be the right one.  She was indeed being watched. 

*~*~*~*~*

"Are you sure spying on her will help us find out what's wrong with her?"  Ranma said somewhat skeptically, from his perch on the rooftop.  

Pulling his hat up, Ryoga gave him a glare without heat.  "Of course it'll work."  He quipped offended, reaching for a pair of binoculars for his trench coat.

"And why do we have to wear these clothes?  Won't people look at us suspiciously if were wearing trench coats _and_ hats in the summer!?"  Ranma pointed out reasonably.

Ryoga flushed slightly, not having thought of the possibility.  "It doesn't matter.  Akane's going into that restaurant."  He pointed, attempting to change the subject at hand.

His gaze followed Ryoga's outstretched arm to where his fiancé was sitting.  He blinked slowly.  His usually uncute fiancé sat there alone looking even more cute and sexy than she had the day before.

"Umm…I guess we'll just sit back and watch her…"  Ranma trailed off uneasily, trying to tear his thoughts away from Akane.

*~*~*~*~*

Ranma had never realized how much of nothing one person could do in one day!  They had been trailing Akane almost all day, and what did they find out: nothing!  She had done nothing to pique their curiosity all day!  Save maybe drinking a milkshake, but that was only because he wanted one.  Talk about a boring day!

Well he had had about enough of it!  Giving the dozing Ryoga a meaningful glare, he got up; ready to do what he should have done in the first place.  He was going to confront her himself.

He agilely jumped from the roof ready to go talk to Akane when he was stopped by the sound of someone's shoe tapping impatiently behind him.  

He turned around slowly and was greeted by bunch angry faces of about a dozen different women.  'Oh boy…'  Ranma thought nervously.

"We caught the pervert that's been spying on us all day!"  The leader growled, the other's starting to come closer, malice filling their eyes.

Ranma backed up, his hands flying up in a gesture of defense.  "Y-you've go the wrong person!"  He tried vainly to reason with the angry women a few seconds before he was pounced on.

*~*~*~*~*

Akane slowly sipped her now mushy milkshake due to the little interest she really had in it.  Try as she might, she just couldn't banish Ranma from her thoughts or the fact that she was doing something wrong.  Sure it was fun to see how Ranma would react to a nicer her, but she could tell that she was really messing with his sanity.  Not only that, it felt…unnatural.

Throwing her useless milkshake in the garbage by the entrance to the department store that she was about to enter, a staggering figure caught the corner of Akane's eyes.

"Ranma!"  Akane exclaimed, as the figure approached her, silently wagging an accusing finger in her direction.  Had he not looked so utterly ridiculous, she would have felt a surge of anger at his obvious accusation.  She did the only thing she could do: laugh.

Ranma's eyes narrowed dangerously.  "It's good to know that my suffering is amusing to you!"  He said darkly, his gaze momentarily flickering toward the approaching figure on the side of him.

"What do you mean?"  Akane said innocently, already well aware of to what her angry fiancé was insinuating.

"You know what I mean.  Any idiot can tell that you've been acting really strange these past few days.  Isn't that right Ryoga?" 

 Ryoga shook his head in the affirmative quickly.  "Hey!!"  He growled, once he noticed the insult thrown into that statement.

Ranma sighed trying to clear his brain some.  "Akane…tell me what's wrong.  And don't shake your head like there's nothing wrong."  He finished quickly, when he saw that Akane was about to deny his accusations once more.

'Shit.'  Akane thought frantically, her mind moving swiftly, trying to find a possibility that would be believable; Something besides the truth of course.

Akane gave a feigned defeated sigh.   "Okay…I'll tell you.  Well Ranma, I wanted for us to be closer even if were already betrothed.  I wanted us to be like best friends before we were married."  She said insincerely, mentally wincing, the lie flowing smoothly from her lips.

Ranma looked as if he had been struck by lightning.  "A-Akane…I meant tell me the truth."  Speaking to her as if she were a baby.

"I am.  I really do want us to be closer."  To Ryoga's horror, she stepped closer grasping Ranma's stiff-arm, gently laying her head on it.  Vaguely, in the back of her mind, she wondered what the hell she had just gotten herself into.   

*~*~*~*~*

What has she gotten herself into indeed…so how did you like it?  I didn't really like this chapter all that much.  Probably because my heart wasn't into it.  But lots of stuff has been happening to me lately and I'm working on 3 different fics at the same time and I have this idea for an Inuyasha epic…but I have to wait until this 3 are finished.  *Dramatic sigh* the life of a fanfic writer!!  Anyways, if you would like to be on my mailing list just leave it in a review.  'Till next time!

Breezbox


	5. Day three part B

Hi-Minna!  A million and one apologies for having this out so late!  I would really like to thank all of you for all your wonderful reviews for lifting my spirits!  Anyways, on with chapter 5, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ :(

*~*~*~*~*

Ranma was stuck to the spot, mouth agape with astonishment.  Had Akane just said what he thought she had said!?  His befuddled mind questioned feebly.  She wanted to be closer!?!?  Like best friends!?!?  He mentally screamed while looking down at Akane's dark head resting on his shoulder.  Ranma carefully dislodged his arm from her grasp before turning on her.  "Wha- Whe-, Ho-," Ranma stuttered, his surprised making him unable to get out a coherent sentence. 

Akane merely gave Ranma an innocent stare.  "I meant what I said Ranma.  I just decided that I was tired of us always fighting when we should be closer."  She replied carefully, taking Ranma's cold hand in hers.  "Like best friends."  She repeated, smiling up at him, her face starting to flush slightly with her own embarrassment.

Ranma gulped at her seemingly honest reply, staring down dumbly at their joined hands.  Was she for real!?  Is this why she was acting so strange!?  He was just on the verge of asking her this when he was interrupted by Ryoga's dramatic wail of dismay.

Ryoga glowered at the couple.  It couldn't be…Akane was in love with Ranma!?  The love of his life was in love with his greatest rival!?   How could this be?  He met Akane's gaze with his sorrow-filled eyes.  He had never seen this coming…he knew that Ranma loved Akane and had thought the affection one-sided.  But if Akane was happy with Ranma, then he would find a way to be happy with it.  Swallowing the rising lump in his throat, he proceeded to tell Akane that.  "Akane, I will not intrude on your happiness any longer."  He started, looking at the sky in his usual gesture of dramatization, all the while slowly walking away.  "Maybe someday we will see each other someday…sayonara."  He replied as he continued to walk.

Shaking off the stupor that he was stuck in, Ranma noticed that P-chan was about to run headlong into a fountain.  "Ryoga!!"  He yelled in warning, attempting to get Ryoga's attention.

"Don't try to stop me.  I will intrude no longer."  He reasoned, dazedly walking ahead.

That idiot!!!  Ranma raged silently.  If Akane found out that he was p-chan, she would kill them both.  He had to do something, and fast.  

"Ryoga-kun, look out for the fountain!"  Akane cried out, her worried gaze still on Ryoga.

"Akane!"  Ranma said trying to divert Akane's gaze from both Ryoga and the fountain.

"What?"  Akane asked, her gaze still fixed on Ryoga.

"Akane!"  He said again, not knowing what to say to get her attention.

Not knowing what to do, he panicked.  When he heard an audible splash, he grabbed Akane's shoulders, quickly turning her around, an action that surprised them both.

Akane's eyes widened in surprise.  She licked her top lip nervously.  "W-what do you want Ranma?"

Ranma hadn't heard a word she had said.  When Akane had run her little pink tongue over her pretty red painted lips, he lost all train of thought, save those about kissing the beautiful girl in front of him.  

Ranma pulled away abruptly nearly throwing his unsuspecting fiancé off balance when he realized how ridiculous thoughts were starting to become.  'What am I thinking!?'  This was Akane!'

The heat that had been rising to Akane's face once she had noticed where her fiancé's gaze was concentrated on quickly started to abate after Ranma so unexpectedly released her as she stumbled back slightly to keep from falling.  After steadying herself, she turned angry eyes upon the embarrassed pigtailed boy, desperately wanting to mallot his head in the cement for his rude and insulting gesture, making it seem as if he couldn't stand to touch her.  "What do you want Ranma?"  Akane growled.

"Umm…err…"  He stumbled over his words, trying to think of a response.  Nervously, he rubbed the back of his head as he gaze flew to the small fountain behind Akane.  "Hey isn't that P-chan?"  He cried out hurriedly, pointing to the small black piglet head sticking out on the side of the pool.

Her gaze following Ranma's outstretched arm to the fountain also spotting her small companion.  "P-chan!"  She gasped as she rushed over to the fountain to retrieve her pet.  That done, she slowly walked back to her bewildered fiancé, the small forlorn piglet cuddled close to her chest.  She tried to give Ranma her best cute look.  "So…what do you say?"  Akane asked in a sickeningly sweet voice, the familiar heat of embarrassment starting to rise to her face anew at her own behavior.

Ranma blinked.  This was unreal!  She must be up to something!  Ranma's eyes narrowed slowly at the thought.  "I don't believe you…you must be up to something."  He said stubbornly, totally convinced now that this was all some kind of ruse…it had to be!

Akane blanched visibly as Ranma unknowingly came extremely close to the truth.  "W-why would you think that?"  Akane inquired innocently, forcing a smile to cover up her apparent nervousness.

"Why now?  How come you didn't come to this kind of conclusion before?"  His eyes narrowing even more as his suspiciousness grew. 

"Because…"  She started, trying to think of another plausible lie, "I wasn't ready for that yet…" She trailed off, eyeing her fiancé's face to gauge his reaction. 

Ranma looked at her as if she had grown another head.  The situation had gone from weird to insane in only a couple of days.  He had to get away from this weirdness lest he says something that would be even weirder:  that he wanted the same thing for them also.  That decided, he slanted one more dubious glance in Akane's direction before heading back to the dojo, leaving behind a very frustrated fiancé.

*~*~*~*~* 

Once at home, Akane fled quickly to her room, closing the door behind her before burring her head in her hands, desperately trying to blot out the humiliating actions she had undergone to secure the bet.   How could she have said those things to him!?

She had gone into this bet fully believing that she would come out victorious and proving that she did not love or even like her pig-headed fiancé only to be thrown into a ruse that made it seemed like the total opposite.  How the hell had things turned out like this!?

Akane gave a slow, calming breath, running her long fingers through her ebony hair.  It didn't matter how it turned out to be this way.  What was important is that she won the bet and then everything could go back to normal.  Or could it?

Shaking off a feeling of foreboding, she turned grasping the door handle prepared to go out and continue her role as the over zealous fiancé, but not before a flicker of guilt crept over her.  This is _not_ how the bet was supposed to go.     

*~*~*~*~*

Ranma watched his scheming fiancé descend the stairs with her newly acquired cheerfulness that seemed to have appeared in the last few days.  On his way back the dojo, he found himself thinking more and more about Akane's unexpected proposal and had come up with two reasons why she would propose a proposition such as this: 1 she was plotting something, 2 she was actually serious.  He choose to believe option number one; it was easier to deal with.  Although he knew the first option was no doubt the correct one, he still couldn't help thinking on the second option also.

What if Akane was sincere?  What if Akane really was ready to shed her violent tomboyish ways to become an eager fiancé instead?  The mere suggestion scared him just as much as it enthralled him.   If their relationship did elevate to this higher level, then she wouldn't hit, yell, or accuse him of things that he didn't do less often and things would never be the same.  Even though it sounded great, one question still kept popping up inside his head.  Would he be content with trading in his uncute tomboy for this near perfect fiancé?  Damn, when had everything become so confusing!?!?

Lost in though, he didn't see Akane move over to the table.  The gentle brush of her arm next to his brought Ranma back to reality.  He looked up abruptly, startled at her sudden presence and moving away from her slightly in a childish like move, giving her a small offensive scowl.           

Only the familiar small fire of anger burning in her eyes was the only indication that Ranma's behavior was upsetting her as she smiled and offered Ranma a plate of rice balls in a sickeningly sweet voice.  "Would you like one?"

Sigh, it looked like this was going to be another weird evening.

*~*~*~*~*

'Whew!  I'm glad that's over for today!'  Any more sweetness displayed this night and she would have rotted out her own teeth!  The things she did for the sake of this bet!  

After dinner, she found herself in the hallway to her room waiting for her fiancé to pass by.  She had played her part well in convincing Ranma that she was her proposal was sincere…so why wasn't he believing her?  Well it was up to her to prove to him that she wasn't lying, she thought with a slight wince of guilt at her little white lie (A/N: hah!), but she had to win this bet!  Problem was, she had no idea how to get him to believe her.

As if on cue Ranma's head appeared as he slowly climb up the stairs, he gaze unfocused as if deeply lost in thought.  'Okay, Here goes!'  She jumped in front of the unsuspecting pigtailed boy startling him and nearly making him fall back down the stairs.

"What did you do that for!?!?"  He railed at Akane after regaining his balance on the step of the stairs.  "What do you want anyway?"  He finished irately, not wanting to be bothered with her presence at the moment.

Akane balled up her fist, and tried to be calm when he yelled at her, all the while chanting that she needed to win the bet in her head.  Pasting on a tight smile, "Ranma, you still haven't told me how you feel about what I said."

So they were back to that.  "I don't believe you."  He said pointedly, his face fixed in a dubious scowl once again.

"Well if you don't believe me then we should…" She trailed off, searching her mind for something to suggest.  "Then we should…" She trailed off once again, still not able to come up with something.  Suddenly an idea popped into her head and without a second thought to what she was really suggesting, she let it fly.  "We should go out on a date!"  Akane finally said cheerfully, thankful that she had came up with an idea.  Her cheerfulness quickly abate and her cheeks reddened when she realized the extremity of what she had just said, but knowing that there was no retracting that last statement.  What had she just done!?!?

Ranma was no less stunned than she was.  Akane had just suggested that they go on a date!?!?  "N-no way!"  Ranma cried out on instinct, backing away from Akane as if she had just turned into a hideous monster.

While Akane didn't relish the fact that she had come up with the idea that they should date, it was a way to win the bet and she needed his cooperation.  She knew just how to get it too.  "Your scared of a little date?"  

Ranma bristled visible.  "Hey, I ain't scared of no date!  I just don't want to go out with you!"  Ranma said defensively, winching when he saw the small but noticeable flicker of hurt in her eyes.

Swallowing the hurt and the need to smash his head in, she just gave him a look that clearly said 'yeah right.'

Ranma watched Akane as he thought more on her suggestion.  Would it be that bad?  Maybe he could find out the truth.  "Fine you're on."  He suddenly said, quickly walking to his room wondering if he had made the right decision.

Akane gave a small triumphant smile but it waned slightly when she thought about what she had done.  She had gotten Ranma to comply, but was she ready for something like this?  She certainly hoped so.

*~*~*~*~*

Whew!  Another chapter down!  Sorry about the big delay guys, but I was starting to lose focus on what I wanted to do with this story.  So what do you think?  Please review and tell me.  If you would like to be notified when I update, leave it in a review.  Thank you guys so much for reading and I hope to see you next chapter!  


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